TRAVEL GOALS
When we launched Travara pre-COVID-19, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were top of mind as they formally summed up the majority of the problems facing the world, with a target to achieve them by 2030. Fast forward and the world has experienced a global pandemic and we are now living in a climate emergency.
While the pandemic lockdown provided a reprieve to the environment and the damage being caused by overtourism, we have now entered an era where all future tourism must be sustainable and regenerative, as we cannot afford to cause any additional damage to the planet.
When the United Nations member states came together and created the 17 SDGs, or Global Goals, they set a target to achieve them by 2030. In theory, if we achieved all of these goals by then, the world would be…perfect. But now, 2030 holds even more weight, because if we don’t turn the climate crisis around before then, it will be catastrophic.
Easier said than done though, right?
And here’s the thing. Travel, as we know it, is not good for the environment. But…we like to travel. Correction, we love to travel, but have always been conflicted about how to travel in a way that does more good than harm. Now, more than ever.
Reversing the climate crisis and eliminating poverty are big goals. Really big goals, so we need to work quickly if we’re going to get there. We know that travel can be a catalyst for positive change and we know what we need to do.
That’s where you come in. Small actions add up (we’re not just talking about ditching plastic straws), and if you’re making the right (carbon neutral) choices and doing the right things every day, we’ll get closer, faster.
How? That’s where Travara comes in. We’re making it easier for you to know what those responsible travel choices are. Everything we cover supports at least one global goal. We’ve done the research so you don’t have to.
You might not be an environmental activist or end poverty single-handedly, but if you’re doing things like traveling consciously and responsibly, and supporting companies who put people and planet over profits, you’re helping to move the needle.
Want to hear more from the experts? Check out the following resources to learn more about the climate crisis, climate solutions, the SDGs and how tourism can help achieve them:
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The international poverty line is US$1.90 a day. That’s less than your morning latte. SDG #1 is No Poverty. Most people living below the poverty line belong to two regions: Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which is why you’ll see that several of the companies we cover are creating jobs for people in these regions.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The IPCC is the group that produces the climate reports that drive all the scary headlines. The reports are a heavy read, but important if you want to understand just how much we’re killing the planet.
Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency
Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency is a coalition of tourism businesses, organizations and individuals that have declared a climate emergency and are taking purposeful action to reduce climate emissions.
Glasgow Declaration
Launched at COP26, the Glasgow Declaration is a catalyst for increased urgency about the need to accelerate climate action in tourism and to secure strong actions and commitment to support the global goals to halve emissions over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050.
Project Drawdown
Empower all women and girls. Reduce food waste. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase renewable energy. These are are all climate solutions that will drawdown carbon from our atmosphere and you can do all of these when you travel. Project Drawdown is the go-to resource for climate solutions that already exist.
Regeneration
Where Project Drawdown provides climate solutions, Regeneration takes it one step further and provides actionable frameworks to solve the climate crisis now. These frameworks are critical in tourism as current practices are revamped for our warming world.
